Chapter 5
Chapter 5
My impression of Xu Yuan wasn’t that bad at first.
He bore a slight resemblance to Lu Xuzhou.
Perhaps it was a case of ‘love me, love my dog,’ but back in university, I was quite friendly toward this classmate.
That was until I heard him bragging smugly to others:
“Lin Sui is chasing me.”
We hadn’t graduated yet back then. When I heard it, I didn’t dare to step out and refute him; I could only hide in a corner and cry.
Lu Xuzhou found me in the woods by the sports field and kissed away my tears, bit by bit.
I said, “How could he say something like that? I clearly only like you.”
Lu Xuzhou nodded, his gentle gaze hiding a hint of sharpness that couldn’t be entirely concealed.
“I only like you, too.”
He caressed my face with his fingers, emphasizing it again.
“Only you.”
The next day, at the graduation concert, Xu Yuan-who usually loved to make his presence known in front of me-was a rare no-show.
I didn’t pay it much mind.
It wasn’t until later that I learned he had been hospitalized.
Lu Xuzhou said he had been walking at night, tripped because he wasn’t paying attention, and chipped half a tooth. Now, he spoke with a whistle.
Hmph. Served him right.
When I arrived at the private dining room, Xu Yuan and Ming Lei were already there.
Xu Yuan had a ballpoint pen clipped to his chest pocket and a cigarette between his fingers. He was puffing out clouds of smoke, lamenting how difficult it had been to earn money and support a wife all these years.
As he spoke, his gaze remained glued to me.
I took a seat on the other side of Ming Lei, using her body to block his line of sight.
Xu Yuan clicked his tongue. “Lin Sui, if you had been a bit more proactive back then, the person sitting next to me right now wouldn’t be Ming Lei.”
“Hahaha!” The former classmates burst into laughter.
Hearing Xu Yuan’s words, Ming Lei’s expression stiffened slightly.
I frowned, baffled by his sheer confidence.
“Have some food.” I placed some food in Ming Lei’s bowl with my chopsticks. “It’s been four years since you left. Are you still playing the flute?”
While Ming Lei remained silent, Lu Xuzhou sent a WeChat message: [Have you arrived?]
I replied: [Mm-hmm, the driver was very punctual.]
There was a brief silence on the other end.
Lu Xuzhou: [Is Chen Yuan there too?]
I couldn’t help but curl my lips as I typed: [It’s Xu Yuan.]
After so many failed attempts, I had lost all confidence in my ability to actually provoke a man with the vast patience of the ocean.
I added a casual explanation: [He came with his wife. You should have met her before-she’s the girl who played the flute in university.]
Lu Xuzhou had no interest in Xu Yuan’s life and simply replied: [Eat well. Don’t drink any alcohol.]
Just as Lu Xuzhou told me not to drink, Xu Yuan was clamoring with several other men for everyone to have a toast.
I shook my head and said I wouldn’t be drinking.
Xu Yuan gave a playful, mocking smile. “I didn’t see you driving?”
As he spoke, Ming Lei tugged at his sleeve, but he quickly brushed her off.
Ming Lei then reminded him in a low voice, “Hubby, Sui Sui is allergic to alcohol.”
Xu Yuan froze for a moment, then stood up with his glass raised. “Look at my memory! I forgot our Sui Sui is allergic to alcohol. I’ll drink this glass as an apology.”
He tilted his head back and downed the entire glass of baijiu, drawing cheers from the whole room.
Ming Lei’s face turned a bit pale.
I squeezed her cold hand. Amidst the noisy clinking of glasses, I found myself inexplicably missing Lu Xuzhou.
I sent him a message: [When can you come back?]
The interface was still stuck on his instruction: “Don’t drink any alcohol.”
After waiting a while, Lu Xuzhou didn’t reply.
Xu Yuan was drunk.
He stumbled over to stand behind me. “Lin Sui, do you know why I didn’t end up with you back then?”
The dinner table went silent instantly.
My first instinct was to look at Ming Lei.
Ming Lei grabbed Xu Yuan’s arm, her knuckles turning white from the force.
Xu Yuan continued, “I originally thought you were a clean, innocent girl, but I saw it all that day. You got out of a luxury car.”
He started laughing. “I’ve seen your files. Your parents died when you were young. Where did you get a luxury car from?”
Ming Lei quickly stood up. “I’m so sorry, he’s had too much to drink. Sui Sui, don’t take it to heart.”
A luxury car?
I pondered for a moment.
Having been by Lu Xuzhou’s side for so long, even if I only projected a third of his presence, it was enough to be intimidating.
I raised my eyebrows and explained calmly, “When I graduated, my foster parents came to pick me up.”
At this point, I frowned again. “Oh, I forgot. You were in the hospital right before graduation. It must have been earlier than that.”
“What?”
Ming Lei’s face turned deathly pale. Her hand shook, and the wine glass she was holding dropped onto the table with a clatter.
I looked at her with some confusion. “You didn’t know? Right before the graduation gala, Xu Yuan was walking at night and tripped, breaking his tooth…”
“Shut up!” Xu Yuan interrupted me, sounding exasperated and humiliated.
For the first time tonight, I looked him straight in the eye.
If Xu Yuan had shared a slight resemblance to Lu Xuzhou during university due to their youth, then years later, after being tempered by society, their true natures had surfaced. There wasn’t a single similarity left between them.
In the quiet private room, only Ming Lei’s trembling voice could be heard asking, “So, the person who helped me backstage back then… it wasn’t you, was it?”
Her gaze fell on the ballpoint pen clipped to Xu Yuan’s chest.
On the day of the rehearsal, the lighting backstage had been too dim. She could only remember a gentle, tall silhouette and the slight reflection of a pen cap on his chest.
Later, during a return visit to the school, she ran into Xu Yuan, who had come to collect his diploma.
She asked Xu Yuan if he was the boy who had helped her backstage.
The boy before her had swept his gaze over her expensive bag and exquisitely made-up face, smiling warmly and kindly. “It was me!”
…